1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to retractable coverings for architectural openings such as windows, doorways, archways, and the like, and more particularly to a system for mounting and controlling the operating cord for such coverings to minimize risk to infants who might otherwise be harmed by having a body part entangled within the operating cord.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Retractable coverings for architectural openings have taken numerous forms for many years. Many retractable coverings have a roller across the top of the architectural opening, and an operating system including clutches, brakes or the like for rotating the roller with the operating system typically comprising one or more pull cords at one end of the roller so that the pull cords can be selectively pulled, or, in the case of an endless pull cord, circulated to cause the roller to rotate in one direction or another about its longitudinal axis. The roller itself might anchor the top edge of a shade material in which case the shade material can be wrapped around the roller in a retracted position of the covering or extended into a suspended position relative to the roller when it is unwrapped from the roller. The rollers might also be used to anchor one end of a plurality of lift cords which extend from the roller to a bottom rail of the covering so that by rotating the roller about its longitudinal axis, the lift cords can be wrapped around the roller to raise the bottom rail toward the roller and by rotating the roller in the opposite direction, the lift cords can be unwrapped from the roller to lower the bottom rail thereby extending the covering across the architectural opening.
The roller is typically reversibly rotated by an operating cord sometimes referred to as a pull cord. The operating cord (which might constitute two separate and independent cords) is operatively connected to the roller so that by pulling the pull cord or operating cord, in one direction or the other, the roller can be selectively rotated in one direction or the other. Sometimes the operating cord is an endless cord which forms a closed loop that is operatively connected to the roller so that by circulating the closed loop operating cord in one direction, the roller is caused to rotate in a corresponding direction, while circulating the operating cord in the opposite direction causes the roller to rotate in an opposite direction. Circulating movement of such an endless cord in one direction or the other causes the covering for the architectural opening to move between extended and retracted positions. Such retractable systems typically include a clutch/brake system to selectively retain the roller in any predetermined position.
Endless operating cords can pose significant risks to infants or small children who might become entangled in the loop of cord hanging from the end of the roller. Accordingly, efforts have recently been made to control the operating cord to minimize the risk of an infant or child becoming entangled in the cord.